Vector agrees to penalty

Vector says it has today accepted a $3.575 million penalty judgement handed down by the Auckland High Court for breaches to electricity network quality standards in 2015 and 2016.

The March 22 judgement follows Vector’s decision in October 2018 to agree to a settlement with the Commerce Commission over the 2015 and 2016 breaches.

“Vector acknowledges the inconvenience power network outages can cause our customers,” its chief network officer Andre Botha says.

“We note the judge has made comments that a portion of the SAIDI limit contravention came from Vector’s changed policy on health and safety [28], and that these breaches were not cynical or designed to extract maximum profit [27].

“We are constantly evolving our business to meet Auckland’s significant growth though ongoing investment decisions that improve long-term outcomes for customers and improve the performance of Vector’s network.

“Vector has worked constructively with the Commerce Commission throughout the settlement process for these historic breaches, and we will look to continue the conversation with them about how the regulatory environment can support the challenge of Auckland’s growth and changing expectations of energy.”